Sunday, March 19, 2006

The power of the ancient Egyptian priest

An item looking at the role of priests and the purpose of amulets. This article should be up for the rest of the week, but will change next Saturday:

"In ancient Egypt, amulets might be carried, used in necklaces, bracelets, rings, or even small statues. They were often placed among a mummy's bandages to ensure the deceased a safe, healthy and productive afterlife. Egyptian amulets functioned in a number of ways. Symbols and deities generally conferred the powers they represented. Small models that represented known objects, such as headrests or arms and legs, served to ensure those items were made available to the individual or that a specific need could be addressed. Magic contained in an amulet could be understood not only from its shape. Material, colour, rarity, the grouping of several forms, and words said or ingredients rubbed over the amulet could all be the source for magic that granted the possessor's wish".

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This blog was set up in 2004 to aggregate news about Egyptology and related topics from online sources on a regular basis. It was closed finally in September 2013 due to other commitments. It has been left open as an archive, but comments have been disabled.